Spotted! Making Trousers.

Thanks to the lovely people at Abakhan this week I’ve been working on their “creative budget’ blogger challenge. The idea of this is to demonstrate that you don’t have to spend a fortune to have cool stuff!

I’m into tailored trousers at the moment in a big way. They’re smart enough to wear to work but with bold printed fabric have more character than your boring boardroom pinstripe. Here I’ve teamed them with a Topshop cropped tee (I love a good literary quote) and a pair of silver ASOS slingbacks but they could just as easily worn with the hem rolled up with a pair of Air Max and a sweatshirt for a more casual look. They’re pretty versatile so will suit most occasions.

I’m not afraid of a large polka dot so opted for this polycotton large spot fabric. The Kwik Sew trouser sewing pattern was really easy to follow – one word of advice though would be to go off the measurements on the pattern pieces rather than on the outer packaging, my first attempt ended with a pair of pants two sizes too big that had to be completely unpicked! Attempt two was much more successful, one pair took about 2.5 hours from laying out the fabric and the pattern to final stitch. The pattern did require an 8” zip and interfacing but I already had these in my stash so no drama there. I lengthened the legs by about an inch (being 5’7” and with a body that’s two thirds leg everything is always short) but this didn’t cause any issues with the final garment. The pattern does include the option to add pockets but for ease I opted to leave them out.

One of this season’s biggest trends is co-ordination. The high street is full of matching separates and the beauty of buying your own fabric means it’s easy to replicate without much extra cost. One of my next projects is going to be a 1950s style matching crop top to wear with these. After the initial blip, my own homemade capsule wardrobe is coming along nicely!

P.S. A shout out is needed to my very talented photographer boyfriend for taking these photos in the street on a cold Manchester weeknight and managing to make them look summery! x